Daily Dose

Daily Dose of the Dub: Rockets make two late night blockbusters, Christiansen returns to WHL and more

Written by Ben Dooley on

Rockets make two major late-night moves 

The WHL is truly a league that operates 24 hours a day, with the Kelowna Rockets making two huge moves on Thursday night.

In the first move, the Rockets have acquired 1999-born forward Matthew Wedman from the Seattle Thunderbirds for a first-round pick in the 2023 WHL Bantam Draft, a second-round pick in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft and a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft.

In a corresponding move, the team traded 1999-born forward Leif Mattson to the Spokane Chiefs for a third-round pick in this year’s bantam draft.

A seventh-round pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, Wedman is in his fifth season in the WHL, all spent with the Thunderbirds. Through 19 games this season, he’s posted 11 goals and six assists. He’s coming off a season in which he posted career highs in both goals (40) and assists (37) earning himself a spot on the WHL Western Conference Second All-Star team. He was named the captain of the Thunderbirds. He was the lone remaining member of the 2017 championship team still with the organization.

Mattson is in his fourth season in the WHL, spent entirely with the Rockets organization. He’s suited up for 25 games and has five goals and 13 assists. He has also posted back-to-back 60-point seasons which the Chiefs hope will help fill the void left by the injured Jake McGrew. The pick the Chiefs are giving up in the trade is originally Regina’s property which means it will likely be a higher pick.

Chiefs release Thompson

With the addition of Mattson from the Rockets, the Spokane Chiefs were forced to release Baron Thompson from the roster to meet WHL overage rules. The Chiefs added Thompson after the aforementioned McGrew went down with an injury. He played in 10 games with the Chiefs but was held pointless. He will likely rejoin the MJHL’s Dauphin Kings where he had 13 goals and 15 assists in 15 games this season before signing with the Chiefs.

Christiansen returns to Silvertips

Jake Christiansen has been released from his professional try-out with the AHL’s Stockton Heat meaning he is returning to the WHL’s Everett Silvertips. He saw the ice in nine games with the Heat but was held off the scoresheet and was a -4. With the return of Christiansen, the Silvertips will now have 14 days to move out one of Christiansen, Bryce Kindopp, Max Patterson or Wyatte Wylie from the organization in order to comply with WHL overage rules. Christiansen will be available to the Silvertips for Friday night’s game in Medicine Hat but may not be in the lineup as the Silvertips balance their overage numbers.

Czech Republic releases World Junior Selection Camp Roster

It’s not often you see this if we’ve ever seen it before, but this year’s Czech Republic World Junior Selection Camp Roster features more WHL players (9) than the Canadian roster (8):

  • Everett Silvertips forward Michal Gut
  • Prince George Cougars forward Filip Koffer
  • Kamloops Blazers forward Martin Lang
  • Calgary Hitmen forward Jonas Peterek 
  • Winnipeg ICE forward Michal Teply
  • Seattle Thunderbirds defenseman Simon Kubicek
  • Saskatoon Blades defenseman Radek Kucerik 
  • Moose Jaw Warriors defenseman Libor Zabransky
  • Spokane Chiefs goaltender Lukas Parik 

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Beaupit rejoins Chiefs

With Lukas Parik heading off to represent the Czech Republic, the Spokane Chiefs have brought Mason Beaupit back to the roster. Beaupit was with the organization earlier this season while Parik battled an injury but did not get into game action. In 13 games with the BCMML’s Valley West Giants, he has a 2.73 GAA.

Pats recall Weigel from Blazers

The Regina Pats have called up defenseman Daylan Weigel from the Saskatoon Blazers of the SMHL. The 16-year-old defenseman was a sixth-round pick of the Pats in the sixth round of the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft. In 23 games with the Blazers this season, he has four goals and 14 assists.

Update on new Event Centre to play host to Hitmen

The definitive agreement between Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation and the City of Calgary has been signed, outlining all of the conditions for the construction of the new event centre which will play host to the Calgary Hitmen when completed.